I know of what you mean by this, but then don't u think this is out of context of the OP or the general idea of a common ground. Do you not think the text you are referring to in the Holy Quran has been put out of context if all these Muslims are trying their very best "to love thy neighbor" and they profess that this love for their neighbors (not just Muslim neighbors) is part of Islam, not your perverse interpretation of the text to simple minded "Tax, kill or enslave"

Al-Awlaki originally fled from the US to live in Britain after it was disclosed that three of the September 11 hijackers had worshipped at two different mosques where he preached, one of them in Virginia.

He moved to Yemen in 2004, where he was arrested and then went underground. But despite his links to al-Qaeda, he has been invited by radical British Muslims to give video lectures, most recently at East London Mosque in January. Many of his videos are still readily available in Britain.

Still going on about that al-awlaki non-cleric? Did you not understand wayfarer's posts? I'm beginning to think posters need to declare their IQ, and their level of proficiency in English, so the other posters know at what level to pitch their posts.

You know, perhaps you should create a separate thread titled "How intelligent am I to judge over a billion people by the actions of less than 1% of them?" and you can post all your highly informed observations and comments in there.

Still going on about that al-awlaki non-cleric? Did you not understand wayfarer's posts? I'm beginning to think posters need to declare their IQ, and their level of proficiency in English, so the other posters know at what level to pitch their posts.

You know, perhaps you should create a separate thread titled "How intelligent am I to judge over a billion people by the actions of less than 1% of them?" and you can post all your highly informed observations and comments in there.

Taqiyya just isn't going to work here, and neither will the straw-man and ad hominem tactics.

Taqiyya just isn't going to work here, and neither will the straw-man and ad hominem tactics.

From the Taqiyya link you supplied:

Originally Posted by wikipedia

Shi'i view

Shia authority, Ayatollah Sistani describes the concept of taqiyya as follows:
1) Taqiyah is done for safety reasons. For example, a person fears that he might be killed or harmed, if he does not observe Taqiyah. In this case, it is obligatory to observe Taqiyah.
2) Reconciliatory Taqiyah. This type of Taqiyah is done when a person intends to reconcile with the other side or when he intends to soften their hearts. This kind of Taqiyah is permissible but not obligatory.
3) Sometimes, Taqiyah may cause a more important obligation to be lost or missed, if so it is forbidden. For example, when I know that silence would cause oppression and infidelity to spread and will make people go astray, in such a situation it is not permissible to be silent and to dissimulate.
4) Sometimes, Taqiyah may lead to the death of an innocent person. If so, it is not permissible. It is therefore haram (forbidden) to kill a human being to save your own life.[5]
The taqiyya doctrine is based on this sura from Qur'an 3:28: "Let not the believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers. If any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah; except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them." Sunni commentator Ibn Kathir explained that "believers that fear for their safety from the unbelievers... are allowed to show friendship to the unbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly."
According to Shia scholar Muhammad Husain Jafari Sahiwal, Shi'ism would not have spread if it wasn't for taqqiya. (Referring to instances where Shiites have been ruthlessly persecuted by the Sunni political elite, during the Umayyad and Abbasid empires.)[6]

Sunni View

Taqiyyah has no place in Sunni Islam.

So, in order for this taqiyya to be applicable to me, I'd have to be muslim, and I'd have to be shia. That's two massive assumptions. What, exactly, do you base these assumptions on?

With approximately 1.57 billion Muslims[11] (see Islam by country), Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and arguably the fastest growing religion in the world.[12][13][14][15][16]

Now, let's be conservative and take a billion to mean "a thousand million". Then that would be 1 570 000 000, of which 1% is 15 700 000, i.e. 15 million and 7 hundred thousand. Please, dear Frankie, be so kind as to point out exactly who these more than 15 million and 7 hundred thousand "muslim extremists" (plane crashers, bombers of innocents, etc) are.

Remember, a couple of hundred won't do, a few thousand won't do, in fact, not even HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of muslim extremists. You need to show that there are more than 15.7 MILLION, otherwise your "HA HA HA HA HA" is really just you laughing at your own silliness.

You know, some of you might wonder why I keep defending various religions, when I don't appear to be overly theistic myself. Well, it's not really that I'm defending theism, I'm just exposing slander, deliberate misrepresentation, incorrect use of logic, and plain stupidity and the like for what it is (like my comments on Sina's "review" of the Naik-Campbell debate).

Yep this is what grates me too, even atheists are not immune to stupidity I noticed.

To be fair, neither group is immune to stupidity. However, the more vocal, militant types, by their very nature, expose their stupidity over and over again, and much more resoundingly so, than the respectful, moderate types.

To be fair, neither group is immune to stupidity. However, the more vocal, militant types, by their very nature, expose their stupidity over and over again, and much more resoundingly so, than the respectful, moderate types.